The present invention relates to an all-terrain vehicle and includes improvements and modifications of the subject matter disclosed and claimed in patent application Ser. No. 116,397, filed Nov. 3, 1987, and now U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,747, issued on Apr. 4, 1989.
In the above U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,747, a six-wheeled vehicle is disclosed. The vehicle has two bogies mounted on each side. The two bogies on each side are movably connected to each other at their ends and are pivotally mounted on the vehicle body. One of the bogies on each side mounts a wheel at each end, and the other bogie mounts a third wheel at its end remote from the other bogie. In the foregoing patent, various drives are disclosed for the wheels, along with linkages to maintain the bogies inclined at equal angles to the horizontal in all pivotal positions thereof. In certain of the drives disclosed in the above patent, if certain of the driven wheels were suspended above the ground, or were spinning on ice, the normal procedure was to brake the spinning wheel in order to preserve the drive to the remaining wheels. Furthermore, in the above patent, the bogies included portions which extended outwardly beyond the vehicle body and certain of the wheels were mounted on such extended portions. However, if there were obstructions in the path of the ends of the bogies, they could be hung up on them. Furthermore, insofar as known, prior bogie suspensions of the above-described type did not have independently spring-shock mounted wheels which were capable of being positively driven and/or steered. It is with overcoming the foregoing deficiencies of the prior constructions and with providing other embodiments of this type of vehicle that the present invention is concerned.